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UFC,
SPIKE TV TO LOOK FOR REAL CONTENDER
IN
"THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER"
By
Boxing Insider.com
December
7, 2004
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The Ultimate
Fighting Championship and Spike
TV have assembled 16 athletes from across North America
to determine who has what it takes to earn a UFC contract in
"The Ultimate Fighter", a new and exciting
reality-based television series.
The original series, hosted by top recording artist and
model Willa Ford, premieres on Monday, Jan. 17 at 11 p.m.
(check local listings) following WWE Monday Night Raw and
runs for 15 exciting episodes, including a LIVE event. Craig
Piligian (co-executive producer of Survivor I, II and III)
serves as co-executive producer.
New episodes premiere Mondays with encore presentations on
Fridays (midnight-1 a.m. EST/PST), on Saturdays (7 p.m.
EST/PST) and on Sundays (5 p.m. EST/PST). Competitors in The
Ultimate Fighter are not voted off the island, fired by a
CEO, or eliminated in a rosy ceremony. Instead, the ones
sent home are those who lose in the Octagon or are sent
packing by their coach.
“Sixty-year-old Sylvester Stallone may be looking for a
contender, but the UFC is looking for a champion,” boasts
Dana White, UFC President. “'The Ultimate Fighter' goes
behind the scenes to see what it takes when 16 hard-core
guys from around the country live, train, and fight together
– all with one ultimate goal.”
Viewers will be able to follow the 16 fighters as they
train, workout and live together. At the end of each week,
one fighter from each of the two teams must fight in the
Octagon until only two remain in each of the two weight
divisions. In the end, The Ultimate Fighter will be decided
by a competition match - a head-to-head fight inside the
Octagon – LIVE on Spike TV.
The competitors are all accomplished athletes, disciplined
in the sport of mixed martial arts which combines boxing,
wrestling, judo, karate, kickboxing and Jiu-Jitsu. For seven
weeks during taping, the competitors were under the strict
supervision of two of the most successful and well-known UFC
fighters and trainers: UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Randy
Couture and UFC Light Heavyweight #1 Contender Chuck
Liddell.
In each episode, the competitors also will compete in team
“Challenges” designed to push the fighters to the edge
of their physical and mental capabilities. The challenges
revolve around old-school training techniques, physical
stamina and mental strategy. The team that wins the
challenge controls which combatants must fight and face
elimination.
The Ultimate Fighter was taped in Las Vegas at the UFC
Training Center under the supervision of Piligian, the
show’s creator and co-executive producer. Piligian, from
Pilgrim Films and Television, also is known for his work on
American Chopper, American Hot Rod and American Casino.
Robert Riesenberg (executive producer of NBC's "The
Restaurant") of Full Circle Entertainment also serves
as co-executive producer. Riesenberg is president and CEO of
Full Circle Entertainment, a New York Company. Full Circle
Entertainment is an independent production company
specializing in developing and producing programming that
services the marketing needs of advertisers. Full Circle
Entertainment is a wholly owned unit Omnicom Media Group,
which is part of the Omnicom Group.
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